Film studio Relativity Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

By Iain Alexander / 30 July 2015

Relativity Media has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid reports it has up to $1 billion in liabilities to nearly 5000 creditors.

The studio's debt mountain has become unsustainable and it also failed to find a new lender in the past several months. Relativity Media is behind some of the most successful films of the past decade and has over 150 features to its name including "Mamma Mia!," "Hancock," "Fast & Furious," and "The Bourne Legacy."

Several films currently in development are reported to be at risk including Halle Berry action flick "Kidnap" and "Masterminds" with Zach Galifianakis who famously humiliated Brad Pitt in 2014 on Funny or Die sketch "Between Two Ferns."

Relativity Media LLC was created in 2004 by Ryan Kavanaugh and has 9 separate divisions including Relativity Music, Relativity Digital, and Madvine.

With today's filing the studio is now set to be sold at an auction with investors being encouraged to bid for its different businesses. The company is believed to have assets of up to $500m.

The studio will continue to run during the Chapter 11 proceedings while its film slate will be sold off. Redundancies are also likely in the near future but wages will be paid for now.